JuiceBlendz and YoBlendz target college campuses for expansion

April 10, 2012|By Justine Griffin, Sun Sentinel

South Florida entrepreneur Adam Ogden is taking his smoothie and frozen yogurt companies on the road.

Ogden, CEO and founder of the JuiceBlendz and YoBlendz brands, is doing a year long college road tour to chat with young entrepreneurs and give them a chance to run their own business. Ogden kicked off the tour this week at Nova Southeastern University, where he spoke to business classes and gave away free smoothies made inside the company's mobile blending truck.

The JuiceBlendz and YoBlendz plan to open 125 new franchises across the country, with at least 50 of those opening by the end of the year, Ogden said. There are 30 locations in South Florida, including in the BankAtlantic Center and American Airlines Arena.

It took 16 years of ups and downs for Ogden to develop the successful concept. To help students avoid the years of hard knocks he's faced, Ogden is offering 24 colleges the chance to open a JuiceBlenz or YoBlendz franchise without paying fees. As long as the operation is student run.

"I want to show that it's possible to do a lot with a little – my story is a clear example of that – and I think they'll relate well to a younger entrepreneur who was in their shoes not long ago," he said.

Ogden, 36, will waive the franchise fee, which ranges from $40,000 to $100,000 depending on the store format, and will help train students and faculty to run the business. The school will be required to pay for the space and equipment.

"The market for smoothies is huge," Ogden said. "You can't go anywhere without seeing an ad for smoothies somewhere."

National giants McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks offer smoothies..

"There's a trend out there to eat healthier and smoothies are on the forefront of that," he said.

Ogden launched JuiceBlendz in 2005, and YoBlendz in 2010. JuiceBlendz focuses on fruit- and juice-based beverages and healthy supplements. YoBlendz sells frozen yogurt items. Unlike competitor smoothie companies, franchisees have the opportunity to work with one or both brands under one roof.

Together, the companies made $7 million in sales last year and are expected to more than double that in 2012.

The first university to accept Ogden's franchise deal is Fordham University in New York. Ogden will visit the school later this year in his mobile blending truck as a part of the college road tour. He hopes to visit two schools a month for the next year.